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Entrepreneurial Selling - (E-M)

Course code
EAI619
Course type
MSc Course
Weekly Hours
2,5
ECTS
5.0
Term
HS 2023
Language
Englisch
Lecturers
Prof. Dr. Ove Jensen
Please note that exchange students obtain a higher number of credits in the BSc-program at WHU than listed here. For further information please contact directly the International Relations Office.

The course content includes two parts:

Part I: Sales Model

Week 1: Selling and the Business Model

  • Entrepreneurial Selling Challenges
  • Sales Model Classification
  • Channel Economics

Week 2: Channel Partners

  • Direct vs. Indirect Selling (includes case study)
  • Selling through Retailers (includes guest lecture)

Week 3: Sales Scaling

  • Developing a Scaling Model (includes case study)
  • Building Unicorns vs. Camels (includes guest lecture)

Part II: Selling Techniques

Week 4: Enterprise Selling

  • Selling Innovations to a Buying Center (includes case study)
  • B2B Targeting and Lead Sourcing (includes database application)

Week 5: Sales Scripts

  • Approaching Customers
  • High-Pressure vs. Low-Pressure Selling Techniques

Week 6+7: Selling Practice

  • Lead Generation and Lead Nurturing Practices (includes guest lecture)
  • Dealing With Difficult Clients (includes guest lecture)
  • Sales Pitch

The course consciously minimizes overlaps with my Foundations of Sales course in WHU's Bachelor program. Thus, it is valuable to students who had a class with me before and those who haven't. To bring everyone to the same level before the course, students with a Bachelor's degree from other schools than WHU receive the selling material from my BSc course as a complimentary self-study.

Date Time
Friday, 01.09.2023 15:30 - 18:45
Thursday, 07.09.2023 15:30 - 18:45
Friday, 15.09.2023 11:30 - 15:15
Thursday, 21.09.2023 15:30 - 18:45
Wednesday, 27.09.2023 15:30 - 18:45
Friday, 06.10.2023 11:30 - 15:15
Friday, 06.10.2023 13:45 - 15:15
Friday, 06.10.2023 13:45 - 15:15
Friday, 06.10.2023 13:45 - 15:15
Friday, 06.10.2023 13:45 - 15:15
Friday, 06.10.2023 13:45 - 15:15
Friday, 06.10.2023 13:45 - 15:15
Friday, 06.10.2023 13:45 - 15:15
Friday, 06.10.2023 13:45 - 15:15
Friday, 06.10.2023 13:45 - 15:15
Friday, 06.10.2023 13:45 - 15:15
Friday, 06.10.2023 13:45 - 15:15
Friday, 06.10.2023 13:45 - 15:15
Friday, 06.10.2023 13:45 - 15:15
Friday, 06.10.2023 13:45 - 15:15
Friday, 06.10.2023 13:45 - 15:15
Friday, 06.10.2023 13:45 - 15:15
Monday, 09.10.2023 15:30 - 17:00
Monday, 09.10.2023 15:30 - 17:00
Monday, 09.10.2023 15:30 - 17:00
Monday, 09.10.2023 15:30 - 17:00
Monday, 09.10.2023 15:30 - 17:00
Monday, 09.10.2023 15:30 - 17:00
Monday, 09.10.2023 15:30 - 17:00
Monday, 09.10.2023 15:30 - 17:00
Monday, 09.10.2023 15:30 - 17:00
Monday, 09.10.2023 15:30 - 17:00
Monday, 09.10.2023 15:30 - 17:00
Monday, 09.10.2023 15:30 - 17:00
Monday, 09.10.2023 15:30 - 17:00
Monday, 09.10.2023 15:30 - 17:00
Monday, 09.10.2023 15:30 - 17:00
Monday, 09.10.2023 15:30 - 17:00
Monday, 09.10.2023 15:30 - 17:00
Wednesday, 11.10.2023 15:30 - 18:45
Wednesday, 11.10.2023 15:30 - 18:45
Wednesday, 11.10.2023 15:30 - 18:45
Wednesday, 11.10.2023 15:30 - 18:45
Wednesday, 11.10.2023 15:30 - 18:45
Wednesday, 11.10.2023 15:30 - 18:45
Wednesday, 11.10.2023 15:30 - 18:45
Wednesday, 11.10.2023 15:30 - 18:45
Wednesday, 11.10.2023 15:30 - 18:45
Wednesday, 11.10.2023 15:30 - 18:45
Wednesday, 11.10.2023 15:30 - 18:45
Wednesday, 11.10.2023 15:30 - 18:45
Wednesday, 11.10.2023 15:30 - 18:45
Wednesday, 11.10.2023 15:30 - 18:45
Wednesday, 11.10.2023 15:30 - 18:45
Wednesday, 11.10.2023 15:30 - 18:45
Wednesday, 11.10.2023 15:30 - 18:45
Entrepreneurship is all about selling. Entrepreneurs collect capital by convincing investors, grow their business by selling products and services to customers, hire talent by selling their company culture to candidates, and get suppliers by selling their reliability as a business partner. They exit by selling their customer base and technology to other firms.

Selling is a set of skills that one can learn. Only a few people are born selling aces. I designed the course content based on interviews with WHU entrepreneurs and WHU investors. The course intends to enhance five categories of competencies:

  • Factual knowledge, for example, applying salespeople jargon to discussing the status of a sale (such as the decision-making unit, red flags, pipeline, RFQ, gatekeepers, and other idioms) and understanding the specifics and terminology of selling to consumers, small and medium businesses, and large enterprises,
  • conceptual knowledge, for example, classifying the varieties of sales models as part of business models, evaluating value propositions and the uniqueness of selling positions, analyzing the composition of a buying center, organizing the elements of a structured selling methodology, remembering legal constraints on managing sales data and on prospecting, and comparing the costs of sales channels,
  • selling-specific procedural knowledge, for example, applying a structured selling blueprint, using databases to identify target customers, creating prospecting scripts, evaluating the needs of a customer through questions, creating a compelling selling story, handling objections, guiding sales conversations through questions, and closing,
  • general business-relevant procedural knowledge, for example, preparing for business meetings, making the best out of a limited preparation time budget, making concise contributions to discussions, constructively building on arguments by other participants, and
  • metacognitive knowledge, for example, evaluating one's selling behavior and creating a skill profile for salespeople.
There is no required textbook. I have not found a book covering all the topics discussed in this course. The learning material for this course includes presentation slides, articles, case studies, role-plays, videos, and whiteboard notes. These and further course-related information are available on the learning management system myWHUcourses (another name is "Moodle").
The learning method in this course follows the ideas of problem-based learning and the "reversed classroom" (a.k.a. "flipped classroom"). The "reversed classroom" replaces classroom lectures ("Frontalunterricht") with a blend of self-study at home and interactive discussions in the classroom. Problem-based learning refutes the traditional, passive learning sequence: "First hearing a concept. Then hearing problems that it could solve". It reverses it to an active learning sequence: "First trying to solve a problem oneself. Then discussing solutions with the group, led by the professor. Finally, getting additional insight from the professor".

The learning method mix includes role-play sessions between students with joint debriefings, case-based discussions with concluding mini-lectures, interactive concept lectures, and managerial guest presentations. Watch this video showing the style of case-based sessions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbNNsq1fC0A. Problem-based learning requires significant energy from both the student and the teacher.

The course grade is composed as follows:
  • 50%: team project "Sales Enablement Video"
  • 50%: class preparation notes (pdf, bullet points are enough)
This course does not require other Master's courses in the program. It stands alone.
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